Airline introduces hands-free toilets amid coronavirus pandemic

There’s very little that’s good to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this airline’s genius toilet design is a rare highlight.

Using the bathroom in on a plane has always been kind of gross, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, it also seems quite risky.

And there’s one part of a toilet visit even the most dexterous passenger can’t avoid – using their hands to open the bathroom door.

Thankfully, Japan’s ANA (All Nippon Airways) is working on a genius solution.

The airline is in the early stages of trialling a new bathroom door that’s been specially designed to open with an elbow, eliminating the need for hands-on contact.

The door, created by aviation product development company JAMCO, opens inward using a broad, flat lever that is pushed.

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The new toilet door concept being trialled by ANA. Picture: All Nippon Airways and JAMCO Corporation

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Once inside, a large sliding bolt can be pushed to lock the door. A second handle on the inside can be easily pushed with the user’s elbow to let them out.

The door is currently a prototype and is being trialled at ANA’s lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport, where the airline is collecting feedback until the end of August.

If passengers like the concept, it could be rolled out across ANA’s fleet.

An ANA spokesperson told the BBC an earlier plan to open bathroom doors using foot pedals was scrapped due to “safety reasons, such as turbulence and the passengers might lose their balance”.

An elbow can be used to lock and unlock the door, as well as to open it (pictured). Picture: All Nippon Airways and JAMCO Corporation

The pandemic has sparked a rush by tech companies to develop hygiene technology for planes.

Another tech company, Haeco Americas, is working on a sensor-activated toilet door which, coupled with its foot-operated flush, automatic bin lid and combined water, soap and sanitiser dispensers, could create the ultimate no-touch toilet experience.

“We don’t see any reason the entire lavatory couldn’t become touchless,” Haeco president Doug Rasmussen told CNBC. “We are even working on an idea for the toilet lid and seat.”

Haeco Americas' toilet with foot-operated flush. Picture: Haeco Americas

Other on-board innovations prompted by the pandemic include Collins Aerospace’ plexiglas toilet cover that stops particles from escaping the toilet bowl after flushing.

In addition, Honeywell Aerospace’s cleaning robot, which can sweep a whole plane cabin with a UV light in 10 minutes, and disinfection pods for airport staff, is being tested at Hong Kong airport.

Another noteworthy design concept is The Janus by Avio Interiors, which positions alternating plane seats in the opposite direction and uses hygiene screens to eliminate close contact between plane passengers.